University of Miami is in the midst of an academic and scientific renaissance. At the root of this sweeping transformation is an infusion of new scientific talent with substantial external funding, a rich track record of collaborative team science, and the firsthand knowledge of how to build innovative research programs. The Miami Clinical Translational Science institute (CTSI) will connect clinical and translational science with service, community and training; foster team science; attract a new generation of clinician scientists to human research; and manage the resources needed to sustain success in these areas. With the ultimate goal of improving health, we will catalyze investigators to better understand and mitigate the factors that affect susceptibility, progression, and adverse consequence of disease. Interdisciplinary research will be built on solid bidirectional collaboration with our diverse communities. We will integrate and centralize existing core services across campuses into highly functional Federations with standardized operating procedures and unified governance that are bonded by a common bioinformatics platform. We will emphasize translational research of culturalized medicine, a term we coined to describe culturally targeted, sensitive and appropriate health care. This approach is critical in our own unique community; results will also serve as a general resource to the national CTSA network. We will add functionality to our CITI program, which remains the national standard for research ethics and the protection of human subjects. We have designed the modern form-meets-function Research Commons, the physical home of the CTSI. Collaboration is readily evident across CTSI components, including partnerships among UM Schools, Jackson Health System, Miami VA and the University of Puerto Rico. We acknowledge that all of the CTSI components are merely means to a far greater end. Ultimately, the measure of effect of the CTSI will be its ability to improve the health of our patients, their families, and communities.